The 57 Bus began as a 2015 article in The New York Times Magazine. Slater thought it would make a compelling book for teens and give them an interesting opportunity to grapple with the multiple complex issues raised in the story. In a moment of fate, an editor read the article and reached out to Slater's agent with the same idea. The 57 Bus went on to receive overwhelmingly positive reviews and was a YALSA finalist in nonfiction.
The 57 Bus recounts the true story of a genderqueer teenager being lit on fire while sleeping on a bus in Oakland, California. Slater offers readers a well-rounded exploration into the lives of the two teenagers involved in the incident, as well as the biases...
